At a high school level, students are starting to look into the future and decide if they want to attend college or enter the workforce. That is why I chose Career Clusters Interest Survey. This survey is “intended for use as a guidance tool to generate discussion regarding careers” (Oklahoma department of career and technology education, 2005). Within the survey, three questions are posed several times; “Activities that describe what I like to do,” Personal qualities that describe me,” and “School subjects that I like” (Oklahoma department of career and technology education, 2005). These questions are asked sixteen times and they students are asked to circle their response; they circle all that apply to them. At the end, they calculate how many they circled in each box. Then the students determine which three boxes have the most circles. Those box numbers correspond to the last sheet of the survey, which reveals a career field that should be of interest to the student. I really like this survey for high school students because it does not give the exact career, it simply gives a field area (Oklahoma department of career and technology education, 2005).
The VARK questionnaire is for students 12-18 years old. The students click on which boxes apply to them. They may choose one box in each category or can chose two or three. When they are finished, they click “ok” on the computer and it gives them their results. The results give the students some specific details on how they best learn, whether it is auditory, visual, or kinesthetic. This survey gives the teacher a lot of feedback on the type of activities that will fit well with each specific student (Fleming, 2010).
Finding your strengths survey stated that this assessment was for adult educators to use to find their learners’ strengths. The material in this survey would be for high school students and possibly even college students. I would most likely use this survey for my junior and seniors. The students go through and rate how well the fifty-six statements describe them. There is a rating scale of one to five. Once they are finished, the computer calculates their data and tells them which intelligences they use most often. This data could be very useful in a classroom setting, as I try to determine my students’ strengths at the beginning of school (Armstrong, n.d.).
The student first-day of school questionnaire contains lists of questions that students fill out. The questions have six categories with additional questions; “Goals,” “Family and home environment,” “Personal information,” “Attitudes towards school,” “Educational background,” and “Writing ability” (Herr, n.d.). The questions cover many areas that are important for teachers to know, including information about the students’ backgrounds (Herr, n.d.).
Using all of the resources that I found from the questionnaires, I developed a survey that covers multiple areas and gives me the information I need to diversify my teaching for all learners. My survey is called First day of school interest survey.
References
Armstrong, T. (n.d.). Multiple intellegences for adult literacy and education. Assessment: Find your strengths. Retrieved November 9, 2010, from http://literacyworks.org/mi/ assessment/findyourstrengths.html.
Herr, N. (n.d.). The sourcebook for teaching science. Student first-day of school questionnaires. Retrieved November 9, 2010, from http://www.csun.edu/science/ref/management/ student-questionnaire/student-questionnaires.html.
Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction Resources
Differentiating my classroom is going to require strategically developing my lessons around all learners; below grade level, at grade level, and above grade level. The Tiered Curriculum Project website found under Indiana Department of Education gives examples of lessons for math, science, and language arts in all grade levels (http://www.doe.in.gov/exceptional/gt/tiered_curriculum/welcome.html). This website provides example lessons for each element of readiness, interest, and learning profile, and also gives teachers a resource on how to start developing lessons that differentiate instruction. It also offers ideas on how to set up a lesson and how to incorporate readiness, interest, and learning profile. This website helps educators “vary expectations and requirements for student responses” (Hall, Strangman, & Meyer, 2003, p. 5). Under each element there is a lesson that has a different requirement for each student to complete. The lessons vary depending on whether the student is below grade level, at grade level, or above grade level. I found three other websites that are specific to readiness, interest, and learning profile that can be used as a resource for the teacher (Adams, Pierce, & Dixon, 2007).
Differentiating my classroom by readiness “means tuning into [my] students’ varying degrees of ability in order to create activities that match their skills and levels of understanding” (Smith & Throne, 2007, p. 50). The website mathplay.com has multiple games for all levels and for all topics (http://www.math-play.com/). There are games that incorporate topics in the first grade as well as the topics of algebra and geometry. Utilizing this resource in my classroom would be a great way to assign games to different groups of students that fit their learning needs. For example, some students may need to review integers before we solve equations. Others may be ready for two-step equations while we are learning one-step equations. The variety of games will allow me to assign different tasks to students that help them learn the content. This website is a resource for teachers to use while they are creating tiered lessons that will help all students’ readiness (Popovici, 2010).
One strategy for incorporating students’ interests into their learning is by jigsaw groups, which “provide an unusual opportunity for students to use both collaborative and individual skills as they assume responsibility for teaching others about a specific interest” (Smith & Throne, 2007, p. 29). On the website Teacher Vision, there is an article about jigsaw grouping that explains the method and gives an example of how it is used in a lesson (http://www.teachervision.fen.com/group-work/cooperative-learning/48532.html). The example that was used on this website explained the benefits of using jigsaw grouping. I see this strategy being used for projects that have different parts and different roles (Teacher Vision, 2010).
Each student has a specific method of learning that best suits their needs. As an educator, it is my job to determine how my students learn best and design my lessons to provide equal opportunity for all learning styles. The website diplomaguide.com has a resource of 30 educational tools that support auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners (http://diplomaguide.com/articles/30_of_the_Best_Educational_Tools_for_Auditory_Visual_and_Kinesthetic_Learners.html). According to this weeks reading, “[o]ne of the simplest ways we can begin to introduce technology into our multiple intelligence-based activities is to provide links from the Internet for each task” (Smith & Throne, 2007, p. 74). This website provides many of those links for educators. These resources, among others, are tools that can be used for many lessons, just in different ways. For example, one of the auditory tools is Audacity; a podcast program that has many applications. These many resources have allowed me to research various programs that I was not aware of until now (Deploma Guide, 2010).
Deploma Guide (2010). 30 of the best educational tools for auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners.Retrieved on December 3, 2010, from http://diplomaguide. com/articles/30_of_the_Best_Educational_Tools_for_Auditory_Visual_and_Kine sthetic_Learners.html
Popovici, D. (2010). Free online math games.Math play. Retrieved on December 3, 2010, from http://www.math-play.com/
Smith, G., & Throne, S. (2007). Differentiating instruction with technology in K-5 classrooms. Belmont, CA: International Society for Technology in Education.
Here is a great resource for investigating equations of a line. I am using this game for this weeks lesson and so I thought I would share it with everyone. It is a nineth or tenth grade level game or an algebra I class. This game has the students manipulate the given equation to identify the slope and intercepts.
The Differentiation Station has provided me with many resources and a support group to always go back to. I plan on using all of the resources given on this wiki and I plan on continuing to add more as I work towards developing more UDL/DI lessons. I also plan on using this as a way to communicate with teachers to receive help and support.
As I continue to create lessons that involve technology and differentiating instruction I will gain more ideas. For now I plan to use technology as a way to communicate with my students and for the students to communicate with their classmates. This communication could be for projects or for individual homework. Another way I plan to use technology is for on-line manipulatives and games. There are many tools to provide visual, auditory, and kinesthetic lessons to reach all students. There are also many games that may be lower level for struggling students and then games that are more challenging for higher level students. There are also many games that could be selected according to students' interest. The third way that I plan on using technology if for my students to create projects to show their learning. Some of these projects could use a wiki, blog, podcast, voicethread, digital story, or computer programs. There are endless opportunities for me to incorporate technology in UDL/DI lessons, I will continue to reach out and find those ways to reach my students.
Integrating technology to reach all learners
- Interest Survey
Career SurveyAt a high school level, students are starting to look into the future and decide if they want to attend college or enter the workforce. That is why I chose Career Clusters Interest Survey. This survey is “intended for use as a guidance tool to generate discussion regarding careers” (Oklahoma department of career and technology education, 2005). Within the survey, three questions are posed several times; “Activities that describe what I like to do,” Personal qualities that describe me,” and “School subjects that I like” (Oklahoma department of career and technology education, 2005). These questions are asked sixteen times and they students are asked to circle their response; they circle all that apply to them. At the end, they calculate how many they circled in each box. Then the students determine which three boxes have the most circles. Those box numbers correspond to the last sheet of the survey, which reveals a career field that should be of interest to the student. I really like this survey for high school students because it does not give the exact career, it simply gives a field area (Oklahoma department of career and technology education, 2005).
- Learning Styles Survey
Vark Learning StylesThe VARK questionnaire is for students 12-18 years old. The students click on which boxes apply to them. They may choose one box in each category or can chose two or three. When they are finished, they click “ok” on the computer and it gives them their results. The results give the students some specific details on how they best learn, whether it is auditory, visual, or kinesthetic. This survey gives the teacher a lot of feedback on the type of activities that will fit well with each specific student (Fleming, 2010).
- Multiple Intelligences Survey
Find Your StrengthsFinding your strengths survey stated that this assessment was for adult educators to use to find their learners’ strengths. The material in this survey would be for high school students and possibly even college students. I would most likely use this survey for my junior and seniors. The students go through and rate how well the fifty-six statements describe them. There is a rating scale of one to five. Once they are finished, the computer calculates their data and tells them which intelligences they use most often. This data could be very useful in a classroom setting, as I try to determine my students’ strengths at the beginning of school (Armstrong, n.d.).
- Learning Profile Inventory
Student First Day of SchoolThe student first-day of school questionnaire contains lists of questions that students fill out. The questions have six categories with additional questions; “Goals,” “Family and home environment,” “Personal information,” “Attitudes towards school,” “Educational background,” and “Writing ability” (Herr, n.d.). The questions cover many areas that are important for teachers to know, including information about the students’ backgrounds (Herr, n.d.).
- My Personal Survey
Getting to Know My StudentsUsing all of the resources that I found from the questionnaires, I developed a survey that covers multiple areas and gives me the information I need to diversify my teaching for all learners. My survey is called First day of school interest survey.
References
Armstrong, T. (n.d.). Multiple intellegences for adult literacy and education. Assessment: Find your strengths. Retrieved November 9, 2010, from http://literacyworks.org/mi/ assessment/findyourstrengths.html.
Fleming, N. (2010). Vark a guide to learning styles. How do I learn best? Retrieved November 9, 2010, from http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=younger.
Herr, N. (n.d.). The sourcebook for teaching science. Student first-day of school questionnaires. Retrieved November 9, 2010, from http://www.csun.edu/science/ref/management/ student-questionnaire/student-questionnaires.html.
Oklahoma department of career and technology education (2005). Guidance division survey. Career clusters interest survey. Retrieved November 9, 2010, from http://www.careerclusters.org/resources/ccinterestsurvey/InterestSurvey.pdf.
Here is my Universal Design for Learning presentation!!
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7907263/
Universal Design for Learning and Differentiated Instruction Resources
Differentiating my classroom is going to require strategically developing my lessons around all learners; below grade level, at grade level, and above grade level. The Tiered Curriculum Project website found under Indiana Department of Education gives examples of lessons for math, science, and language arts in all grade levels (http://www.doe.in.gov/exceptional/gt/tiered_curriculum/welcome.html). This website provides example lessons for each element of readiness, interest, and learning profile, and also gives teachers a resource on how to start developing lessons that differentiate instruction. It also offers ideas on how to set up a lesson and how to incorporate readiness, interest, and learning profile. This website helps educators “vary expectations and requirements for student responses” (Hall, Strangman, & Meyer, 2003, p. 5). Under each element there is a lesson that has a different requirement for each student to complete. The lessons vary depending on whether the student is below grade level, at grade level, or above grade level. I found three other websites that are specific to readiness, interest, and learning profile that can be used as a resource for the teacher (Adams, Pierce, & Dixon, 2007).
Differentiating my classroom by readiness “means tuning into [my] students’ varying degrees of ability in order to create activities that match their skills and levels of understanding” (Smith & Throne, 2007, p. 50). The website mathplay.com has multiple games for all levels and for all topics (http://www.math-play.com/). There are games that incorporate topics in the first grade as well as the topics of algebra and geometry. Utilizing this resource in my classroom would be a great way to assign games to different groups of students that fit their learning needs. For example, some students may need to review integers before we solve equations. Others may be ready for two-step equations while we are learning one-step equations. The variety of games will allow me to assign different tasks to students that help them learn the content. This website is a resource for teachers to use while they are creating tiered lessons that will help all students’ readiness (Popovici, 2010).
One strategy for incorporating students’ interests into their learning is by jigsaw groups, which “provide an unusual opportunity for students to use both collaborative and individual skills as they assume responsibility for teaching others about a specific interest” (Smith & Throne, 2007, p. 29). On the website Teacher Vision, there is an article about jigsaw grouping that explains the method and gives an example of how it is used in a lesson (http://www.teachervision.fen.com/group-work/cooperative-learning/48532.html). The example that was used on this website explained the benefits of using jigsaw grouping. I see this strategy being used for projects that have different parts and different roles (Teacher Vision, 2010).
Each student has a specific method of learning that best suits their needs. As an educator, it is my job to determine how my students learn best and design my lessons to provide equal opportunity for all learning styles. The website diplomaguide.com has a resource of 30 educational tools that support auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners (http://diplomaguide.com/articles/30_of_the_Best_Educational_Tools_for_Auditory_Visual_and_Kinesthetic_Learners.html). According to this weeks reading, “[o]ne of the simplest ways we can begin to introduce technology into our multiple intelligence-based activities is to provide links from the Internet for each task” (Smith & Throne, 2007, p. 74). This website provides many of those links for educators. These resources, among others, are tools that can be used for many lessons, just in different ways. For example, one of the auditory tools is Audacity; a podcast program that has many applications. These many resources have allowed me to research various programs that I was not aware of until now (Deploma Guide, 2010).
References
Adams, C., Pierce, R., & Dixon, F. (2007). Tiered curriculum project. Indiana department of education. Retrieved on December 3, 2010, from http://www.doe.in.gov/exceptional/gt/tiered_curriculum/welcome.html
Deploma Guide (2010). 30 of the best educational tools for auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners. Retrieved on December 3, 2010, from http://diplomaguide. com/articles/30_of_the_Best_Educational_Tools_for_Auditory_Visual_and_Kine sthetic_Learners.html
Hall, T., Strangman, N., & Meyer, A. (2003). Differentiated instruction and implications for UDL implementation. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/publications /ncac/ncac_diffinstructudl.html
Popovici, D. (2010). Free online math games. Math play. Retrieved on December 3, 2010, from http://www.math-play.com/
Smith, G., & Throne, S. (2007). Differentiating instruction with technology in K-5 classrooms. Belmont, CA: International Society for Technology in Education.
Teacher Vision (2010). Jigsaw. Peason Education. Retrieved on December 3, 2010, from http://www.teachervision.fen.com/group-work/cooperative-learning/48532.html
Here is a great resource for investigating equations of a line. I am using this game for this weeks lesson and so I thought I would share it with everyone. It is a nineth or tenth grade level game or an algebra I class. This game has the students manipulate the given equation to identify the slope and intercepts.
http://www.crctlessons.com/slope-intercept-game.html
The Differentiation Station has provided me with many resources and a support group to always go back to. I plan on using all of the resources given on this wiki and I plan on continuing to add more as I work towards developing more UDL/DI lessons. I also plan on using this as a way to communicate with teachers to receive help and support.
As I continue to create lessons that involve technology and differentiating instruction I will gain more ideas. For now I plan to use technology as a way to communicate with my students and for the students to communicate with their classmates. This communication could be for projects or for individual homework. Another way I plan to use technology is for on-line manipulatives and games. There are many tools to provide visual, auditory, and kinesthetic lessons to reach all students. There are also many games that may be lower level for struggling students and then games that are more challenging for higher level students. There are also many games that could be selected according to students' interest. The third way that I plan on using technology if for my students to create projects to show their learning. Some of these projects could use a wiki, blog, podcast, voicethread, digital story, or computer programs. There are endless opportunities for me to incorporate technology in UDL/DI lessons, I will continue to reach out and find those ways to reach my students.